A front drive, front engine yard go cart. CRAZY, right?

[matt50]

My plan is to make a go kart out of wood {big heavy frame of rafter type wood, and lightweight plywood body, body-on-frame design} with a front mounted engine. My plan for the motor is to mount it on the left side, with battery, extra fuel tank, and wiring on right side. The motor will drive, DIRECTLY FROM THE SHAFT, WITHOUT GEARS, to a solid rubber tire steel wheel. This wheel will turn the left side solid rubber steel wheel that touches the ground. I will conceal the "gear" wheel with a case in the end. I will steer it with my feet, with a pivoting front end {engine and all} with some sort of steering mechanism. Thus, a front-wheel drive, front engine go-kart that will either drive like no go kart ever has {UNDERSTEER, anyone?} or it will be cumbersome and uncontrollable. Either way, it should be fun. That is if I go ahead and build it. Also, if it means anything, it will be 67 inches long and exactly 3 feet wide. I'm thinking a little 5 or 6 horse would do the trick. i think it would look sweet up front like a car engine, with hood and everything. Keep in mind this thing will be heavy, purely for toughness and stability. I've no idea how heavy, crazy estimate maybe around 100 pounds. Anyone have suggestions, or serious doubts? Engine too small? Or is the idea just too darn crazy to work. By the way, I will want to be using it off-roading in the mud, almost exclusively.
Great to be back in the saddle,
matt50
alias matt5
alias matt

 

[my_mini_bike]

ok let me just take all that in.
what kind of engine are u planing to use, fuel tank, wiring and battery??
a stanard briggs or honda engine has all of this mounted directly on the engine. you dont need to have an allocated space to put it all.
do u plan to mount the wheel straight oh the shaft of the engine?
or is there like a live axle in the front or something.
if there is no chain between the engine and wheel it is not going to be very close to the ground this wont give u much room at all for ground clearence.
the front wheels will porbly just spin beacuase there is no weight in the front.
what about brakes?

and i have many more questions but that will do for now

 

[risto]

I don't think a 6 HP is going to pull that behemoth. How come you decided on wood?

I have a 90 pound, very small metal frame and I have a 6.5 HP on it. I think wood would weigh it down too much.

 

[matt50]

explanation

I'm going to use a Briggs motor for sure. Okay, I guess I wasn't clear about what's goin on in the front of this thing. I am just going to run the motor's output shaft onto a wheel, which will not be the wheel touching the ground. The wheel hooked up directly to the motor shaft will be contacting the wheel on the ground. When the engine's output shaft spins, it will spin the top wheel backwards and the bottom wheel backwards. I will mount the top wheel tightly against the bottom one, with adjusting bolts. With the two wheels, there will be no problem with ground clearance. And, as far as any slippage is concerned, I could always put some spikes into the top wheel which would dig into the solid rubber and make sure the mud wouldn't ruin my day. This is all planning, the "drivetrain" will be the last part to go on my wooden frame. And, the extra gas tank was just an idea to load up some extra weight on the front. I think the weight of the motor and components will keep the wheels pretty firmly anchored to the ground. I'm not too worried, although this is a very eccentric and unusual way to do a kart. My frame design would work perfectly well with rear wheel drive. I knowthat. I just wanted to do something different then everybody else. If you just want to prove that I can't do it, well, I don't blame you. Putting the motor up front is one thing. But not using gears is quite another. Being as it is that I have seen car transmissions and differentials ripped apart probably hundreds of times in my dad's automotive business means that I know how they work pretty well. This contraption is a result of my crazy imagination, but I think it just might work.
Like robin says: "I don' t do normal."
Fire away any other questions you can think of, and I will try to answer them.

 

[matt50]

Motor Size

For Risto: How fast does your metal kart go?

I went with wood because I am really comfortable with it, with all the good old wood I got lying around I feel like using metal would be a waste on an experimental kart, made just for racing around in my backyard. On a serious kart, built for outright speed, of course I would use metal. I think wood will be easier to handle in the end. It will be all bolt together, so I can take it apart someday and use the wood to make some furniture, lol. I am only planning on going 10 to 20, on a flat mud track through my acre and a half of woods. With all the turns, I won't be wanting some outrageous 40 mph go kart. I honestly think any motor from 5 to 10 horsepower will waft this beast along just fine for my liking. With that said, I'm the guy who wanted to pop a 10 horsepower engine into a minibike. I love outrageously powered vehicles. That's just not my mission here. If you think I'm grossly underestimating this whole power situation, please send a reply and straighten me out.

 

[risto]

My kart goes 38 mph, on a good day

ok, I see where you're coming from. You have the resources so might as well experiment. Couldnt hurt, right?

Well, good luck. Keep us all posted and a huge suggestion: make a project log. I really really wish I would have when I built my go kart. It's my only regret.

 

[matt50]

38! That's awesome.
I just got an idea. I could take the whole front end off of a rototiller{8 or 10 horse, like my troy bilt horse model} for what I'm doing and modify it. I would just take off the tines, and maybe just run direct drive to the wheels without gears. Then I could get the wheels spinning at speeds way faster than walking speed, what it was made for. It will be a pain to make my wheel drive system. What do you think, dude? I'm glad I just had this idea!

 

[Jblankster]

i think if you make it out of wood, the second you go over a bump its gonna fall apart.

but other than that sounds great! id love to see a front engine gokart!

 

[THE_REAL_RAT_FINK]

Well, while we're on the subject of crazy ideas, you should just go ahead and make an all-wheel drive go kart. The subaru of go karts!

 

[kibble]

Well, while we're on the subject of crazy ideas, you should just go ahead and make an all-wheel drive go kart. The subaru of go karts!

I actually wanted to do this but it would have been WAY too complicated. It would definitely be awesome though. In the meantime work on my kart is still pending... *sigh...*

To matt: I think you should definitely try to make a front engine kart. At least just to say you've done it.

 

[my_mini_bike]

a 10 hp engine in a wooden cart. i just cant see that working. what do all you think??

do you just plan to bolt an engine on to the front on the kart.

 

[matt50]

yeah, I'm just going to bolt the engine to the frame, up front, where you steer with your feet in the picture. Of course there will be some nice thick plywood to mount the engine on. My biggest question to you guys is: What motor size would be ideal for this kart?
And does anyone think there could be hope in taking the front end of a tiller and modifying it for speed?
That is probably where I will get my engine anyway.

And for the fall apart guy, remember I said that this is rafter type wood im using for the frame, unbreakable unless it gets run over by a truck or hits a tree at high speed.

 

[2or3wheels]

It depends on how the roto tiller chages it gears. In my snow blower it just has a wheel go into the spining wheel by moving it to the outside it move the snowbower faster the inside slower, and on the other side reverse, this wouldnt work i think because the rubber wheel will burn up, as for the HP i think 5 should be fine, my cart weighs at least 150 pounds and im 230 and its geared near 20 and pulls everthing fine, even had me and by brother on it at one time he weighs 180 at least still moved just didnt like to but once its up to speed it was fine.

 

[matt50]

You know, I just thought of how hard this thing will be to turn, with the motor and all, with my feet. Rear drive rear engine will be a lot easier. I don't have the equipment for power steering or anything like that. I am wondering if I still want to do the motor up front a tractor engine and equipment would be easier. Just get a lawn tractor and use the driveline {minus the deck, but dish the body panels. I could get up and running very easily. The practicality of my front engine front drive kart is very low. I could get a nice kart running a lot quicker with rear drive, I think. I am disappointed in myself. It's a good idea, though, don't forget it. If anybody's got some hydraulic rams, like for a log splitter, try this system. I just don't have all the time for mock up parts which would be expensive. Horizontal shaft {hard to find at swap meets} would be best, but I could try my tractor idea.

 

[risto]

Well, while we're on the subject of crazy ideas, you should just go ahead and make an all-wheel drive go kart. The subaru of go karts!

Sorry to diverge, but what if you used a vertical shaft engine, but used two pulleys to drive a lawn mower differential on the front and rear axles?

 

[matt50]

So that would in effect make an all wheel drive kart. I see. That sounds interesting. If I can find two lawnmowers I will definitely consider doing just that, putting the two pulleys together on two lawn mower differentials. You know, the coolest part of your idea is that you could disconnect the pulley and switch from 4wd to 2wd, depending on conditions, but after experiencing 4wd I probably would never want to go back lol.
You know dude, if you want to start a new topic on the message board {you seem to be into the suburu-kart idea} more people could get in on this discussion we're having. Heck, somebody has probably already done it. In the end, for my wooden kart, I will probably just go with a two-wheel drive homemade drivetrain {with pulleys and a single belt, not my little tire thing that I explained before.} If I hadn't said so already, I am going to be driving this beast strictly off-road, so all-wheel drive would help in cornering rather than just drifting around corners. I would be planted. Man , that wouldbe sweet.

 

[the thnikkaman]

As I understand it, your trying to build a single-front-wheel drive car that has the engne pivoting along with the wheels. I'm just wondering, won't the torque from the engine force you to turn all the time, since you are powering only one front wheel? I think you should go with fixed engine inbetween two front wheels connected to the engine via a CV joints.